🔗 Share this article Following nearly destroying our planet, the relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants. In October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety. The Catastrophic Danger The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion. This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands. "What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose each other?" "It was not lost on me how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight." The Brink Towards Disaster What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress. "Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Parallels and Current Dangers Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend
In October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety. The Catastrophic Danger The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion. This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands. "What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose each other?" "It was not lost on me how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight." The Brink Towards Disaster What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress. "Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Parallels and Current Dangers Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend